Realtrax or Fastrack - can it be made quiet?

Oman posted:

Larry3railtrains posted:

I had a hugh layout with MTH Realtrax, SOLID RAIL.    It was not noisy at all. I had 320 sq ft of it . 

The current MTH Realtrax is hollow rail and will be much less quiet , just like LIONEL Fastrack.

YES, the solid rail was good; the hollow rail, not good.

My layout is built with a hybrid of all versions (There are more than two) of Realtrax (and Ritetrax), with hollow and solid rail. I haven't noticed a noise difference between the two. The biggest difference for me was the type of material the track was laid on to absorb noise.

Also bear in mind the difference carpet, curtains, and furniture make when it comes to absorbing noise.  My train room has a carpet floor which also made a significant difference in noise reduction.

Gentlemen,

   The cut cork works fairly well, however the Sound Suppression Acoustical Ceiling Tile cut to fit works much better.  It is expensive however.

PCRR/Dave

I never thought about the rails being hollow. Has anyone tried filling or stuffing them?

Filling would seem hard unless you removed the pin to allow air to escape. Stuffing them with something like a pipe cleaner might have some affect. 

The round rubber pieces offered for the MTH track may help with the noise. The main purpose was to keep the track from sliding but making the track less noisy may be a benefactor. 

Ive yet to find this mystical NOISE the track makes?   How fast do you have to run your trains to hear it?  Do you turn all the sounds off on your engines to listen?  Are the trains silent when running on Gargraves or Ross track?  

Jim : )